Kiss of the Moon
by Calamitynexus
Summary: What would have happened if Aang had been killed by Azula? Please R


I gasp raggedly, my brain screaming for air, my lungs burning from over use. Damn! No time! No time to stop. Keep moving! Go!

My feet dig deep into the sand. I can feel the grains sticking my feet. Shudders rip through me, threatening to throw me off balance.

No!

I have to keep running!

***

"I am proud of you, my son."

I had waited all my life for those words. Yet now, instead of salvation I found only shame in them. Azula had killed the Avatar. Azula had sent the blow that had ripped through the boy, sending his spirit to the afterlife. Though she said otherwise, all I had done was drag the body to present to Father.

The body… Perhaps that was where the problem was. It was hard to feel accepted, loved, when the proof of that love was the burnt corpse of the child at his feet. Even dead the Avatar stilled cause him problems. But soon even the corpse would be gone.

Burnt to ash. Like it should have been a hundred years ago.

***

I stifle a whimper as I slip, slicing open my palm on a jagged rock. Sand sinks painfully into the wound.

Never mind. It doesn't matter. Run! I need to run!

The sun would be up soon! If I could just make it until then…

I feel the lick of the ocean. I can't hide this whimper.

***

I can feel the warmth of Mai, lying in the bed beside me. She had enjoyed destroying that punk's house, but had been tiring work, a tiring day.

So we had gone to bed. Together. Just to talk. Mai was finally opening up a bit to me. She had smiled, telling me that I wasn't cute when I was jealous. Soon she had slipped into sleep.

I can't sleep. Not with her beside me. She's too... perfect for me to waste time with sleep. I can her the soft whisper of her breath as she inhales with the rhythm of sleep. I can see the loose strands of her hair play across her face. Tonight is a full moon. The light gives her pale skin and unearthly glow, as though the light came from with in her.

I can't sleep. Not when the only thing in my life to have gone right sleeps beside me.

***

"I found you."

The voice is friendly, warm, even childish. It's as thought we are playing game.

No!

I turn, trying to flee further into the night.

***

The bed feels warm and wet.

I bolt up. Mom will know what to do. Wait. No. That's not right. Mom hasn't been around for years. I must have been dreaming. Ember Island always makes me a bit nostalgic.

But nostalgia doesn't explain the bed. I can feel the heat rising in my face, surprised that my cheeks aren't emitting actual flames. Oh Spirits… Mai. When she wakes up…

I turn to look at her sleeping form. She hasn't been disturbed by our current predicament, yet.

"Mai." I whisper, hoping to get this over with. It would be nice if it wasn't my fault. "Mai!"

She doesn't even stir.

I move my hand to shake her, my arm gleaming red in the harsh moonlight.

Red?

I throw off the blanket. Blood soaks into the bed, the crimson clinging to my skin.

"Mai!"

I scream her name, my hands wrapping themselves around her shoulders.

She flops to the side. Her eyes see nothing in the darkness.

"MAI!"

***

"Stay."

My body jerks to a halt.

What?

I try to twist, to wrench, to do anything against the invisible bonds that seem to hold me.

Instead I turn around and slowly begin to approach my pursuer.

Dead eyes stare back at me.

***

"AZULA!" I scream her name. She'd know what to do. She always had a plan.

But she doesn't come.

"AZULA!"

I heft Mai, carrying her out into the hallway. If I can find help this will be alright! All I need is help.

But I slip in front of Azula's door, landing in a sticky puddle. I push on the door with my fingers. It eases open with no resistance, swinging silently in the night.

"Azula!"

She's in her room. She's everywhere in her room. And part of her face stares up at me from the floor.

I heave.

***

"Did you like your present Zuko?"

"What are you doing to me?" It's hard to speak and nearly impossible to move my mouth. I gasp as my lungs tighten.

"Did you like your present? They were for you."

I can feel the tears of panic pricking at the corner of my eyes. The dead eyes just wait for me to answer.

"No." My voice hollow, the corpse of a whisper.

I wince as the hands touch me. I can't move. Oh Spirits I can't move.

They wrap themselves around my neck and the body pulls itself closer. I shudder as a voice whispers in my ear.

"Now you know how I feel."

Katara steps back, her dead eyes never leaving my face, not even to blink. "Aang is dead Zuko. It's your fault."

She raises her arms above her head.

"And you will pay."

I scream. Pain explodes everywhere. My body has gone into a spasm, my muscles screaming. I twist into impossible angles. My tears fall, but float instead of hitting the ground.

I gasp, my throat too raw to yell. I twist again, and go flying into the ocean. The water freezes, holding me in place. I can't get enough air to firebend, to free myself.

Katara's footsteps echo as she steps across the ice. She draws level with me. She touches the ice above my heart. It melts under her touch, giving way until her fingers rest on my skin.

The pain is extraordinary. I can only watch and scream as lines of blood pulls themselves from my very skin, thousands of holes being torn into me. And the blood just floats in the air, like angry moon.

"Goodbye Zuko."

I can feel her soft lips press themselves against my forehead.

"Tell Aang I miss him."


End file.
